Hasta La Gadget!

Burlesque star AuroraBoob Realis came up with the idea behind “Quintessential” last year. The New York City-based artist wanted to create a series of burlesque shows, each centered on a full album. “An iconic album,” she explained to The Huffington Post, one “that changed my life and my perspective.”

From the beginning, she said, the first record she wanted to perform was “Purple Rain” because she is, in her own words, “one of those intense Prince fans.” She pitched her idea to a friend, a fellow burlesque performer known as The Incredible, Edible, Akynos, after a Jomama Jones show. Together, they decided to make it all happen: secure a venue, confirm a cast, print the flyers.

And then, April 21 happened.

“I got the news when I was in Austin, Texas,” Aurora said. She was there to headline the Texas Burlesque Festival. After a night of coincidentally dancing to “When Doves Cry” with the co-producer of the festival, Coco Lectic, and a few friends, Aurora woke up to news that Prince, the once and future Purple One, had died.

“I immediately start Googling, and this was still at the point when TMZ was the only source and all they are saying is that someone at the compound died,” she recalled. “And in the next few minutes … more places started to announce his death and it became confirmed. I was in shock. This was completely unreal to me … I’m still in shock.”

“Quintessential: The Purple Rain Edition,” slated for the first weekend in June, suddenly became a memorial event. The two-night engagement in NYC, described in a press release as a burlesque nod to “that album that you played so much it became a part of your very soul,” would no longer be a simple tribute to Prince’s impact on Aurora. It would become a tribute to Prince Rogers Nelson, the man the entire world lost.

“There are a lot of tribute shows popping up,” Aurora admitted. “And I plan on going to as many as possible. I think when an icon of this magnitude passes away, we, the fans, need all of them to celebrate and process and be together.” At the same time, she says, “Quintessential” stands out.

“We are honoring ‘Purple Rain’ — the whole album, from start to finish. There is an intimacy in listening to an entire album. Those of us of a certain age remember that feeling, and for the younger folks, we hope to give them this beautiful experience which will resonate even deeper now.”

The structure of Akynos and Aurora’s show will be, as she outlined, a bit different from the standard burlesque performance. “The role of the host has been turned into the role of two narrators,” she explained, noting that the night will unravel “Purple Rain” from start to finish, all songs revisited in order. “Between the numbers, the narrators, Akynos and I, will be sharing stories from our lives related to each of the songs.”

One such memory is as follows, excerpted from Aurora’s solo theater show “Xenophobadelica”:

“I was a little brown child dancing, always dancing in a see of white faces. So when my childhood best friend Genny introduced me to Prince in first grade it was like this instant and intense connection! He looked like me — the curly hair, the big brown eyes, the complexion of his skin. In Prince, I saw my self reflected in this sea of white faces as he unabashedly groaned, sang and gyrated … It was 1982 and Genny and I would spend hours in her bedroom staring at the record sleeves from the double album 1999. If you’re a Prince fan, you know the one. The good one, the sexy one, the one where Prince is staring at you from beneath a satin sheet that barely covered his ass, hinting at such a wonderful world of androgyny, brownness and desire if only you would take his hand and step inside.” 

The cast of “Quintessential” performers includes exHOTic Other, Miss Southern Comfort, Ooh LaLoba, Miss Frankie Eleanor, Private Tails, and sister selva. Some of the women, including Aurora, are part of Brown RadicalAss Burlesque (brASS), a multidisciplinary, NYC-based performance troupe — an offshoot of Brown Girls Burlesque — that “uses our unique perspectives as women of color as a lens to the myriad of issues we face,” Aurora said. (brASS and Little Woman BIG HAIR Productions are co-producers of the event.)

“Through celebrations of our politicized bodies, we are making politics sexy and empowering audiences to value their own stories and use their creativity toward collective action. We encourage a disruption of the passive consumption of art and use performance to re-imagine our society.”

Of course, Prince was a pioneer of celebrating politicized bodies, challenging strict notions of gender and sexuality on stage and off. If burlesque is, as Aurora pointed out, an art form specifically geared toward challenging the heteronormative gaze through its radical movements, costumes and musical acts, Prince was never working far from the medium.

“From the beginning of his musical career, [Prince] drew on masculine and feminine energies, blending them together whenever he felt the desire,” Aurora said. “Desire. So much desire. Prince was a celebration of the complexity of human desire. The best burlesque lives in that place, too.”

“Quintessential: The Purple Rain Edition” will take place at the Kraine Theater in New York City June 2-3 at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.

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One of only four women in Jordan’s 28-strong cabinet, Majd Shweikeh may have been brought into government by a tweet. A former CEO at telecoms companies Orange and Vtel, she took to social media to complain that there were less than half a dozen women on the board of trustees for Jordan’s universities, out of more than a hundred. Soon after the ensuing Twitterstorm, she was asked to meet the Prime Minister, who promptly made her Minister of Information and Communications Technology.

Of course, Her Excellency had already served on various boards close to the government and the tweet may not have caused her appointment all on its own – but the story demonstrates the personal touch she is using to drive forward an ambitious plan for digital transformation in Jordan: both putting online dozens of services the government is already providing – such as traffic charges, professional licence renewals and criminal record checks – and steering a path towards an increasingly digital economy.

In a country that shares borders with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria, Her Excellency talked to Apolitical about how to transform institutional culture by example, the ways in which technology can change society for the better and why she does mindfulness meditation every morning.

After your famous tweet, you were summoned to the Prime Minister’s office. What did you think was going to happen?
What came to my mind was that I’d pushed the wrong button and would be told to watch what I’m saying. When I arrived, the prime minister asked me what I thought of the ICT sector. I said, ‘Well, it used to be glory, but not any more because of several factors that led to the wrong decisions and over-taxation.’ I explained why and he said, ‘Would you tell me exactly the same thing if we gave you the opportunity to be in charge?’

I said, ‘To be in charge as what?’

He said, ‘As a minister.’

I asked if he was kidding me and he said, ‘No, you have two hours, go change and we’ll meet you at the royal court to do the oath.’

How have you found being inside government?
I’m really passionate about what I’m doing because I’m seeing a transformation and, I don’t know, things happen for a reason. When I left the corporate life to do this, I became a certified professional coach, I did transformation, leadership programmes, looked at high-performance paradigms, as if preparing myself to be in this position.

Given all your work on leadership, how have you tried to change the ministry?
I use something called mindfulness meditation every morning. It really helps for staying focussed on what matters most, on injecting the right positivity into the environment, because I strongly believe in creating an environment by the way you talk and the way you act. It becomes contagious, honestly. I’m here to give, I give passionately, I give with love. I invest my time in the right way. It’s about energy management, I’m investing my energy with the right people and the right things. I think this is the most important thing.

A lot of public sector work is about making alliances and understanding other people’s agendas. Do you think that comes more easily to women?
I think it has something to do with being able to communicate, having this sense of what’s going on, we’re extremely sensitive to the environment around us. And we have the capability to tolerate pressure much more – that’s what I’m seeing. I think we put in extra effort as well, to outshine others, in terms of preparation, in terms of business conduct.

How progressive on women’s empowerment is Jordan compared to its neighbours?
Well, we’re aware of our weakness. We still have this, shall we say, cultural barrier that the man is the bread-earner and the woman is at home. But this thing is changing. In the public sector, female participation is very good, but in the private sector, because of the pressure of long working hours, we have big room to improve.

But having this digital world happening, connectivity from home is a must, and economic participation can be from home. And this is what we’re trying to change, to have professional licences for working at home, flexi-hours, and these things will be key elements to help women be more economically active. I see technology as a key enabler for empowerment.

How do you see the transformation to a digital economy more generally?
We see the IT sector as core if we would like transformation in the health sector, education, transport. For the digital economy,we need to stop looking at IT as an isolated industry, but as embedded in every other sector. I think it makes a lot of sense, if we’d like to see smart cities, if we’d like to see empowerment for women, more efficient government and higher quality of life for citizens.

And do you think that digital switch will change the way people work?
Of course. Because while we in government are working on the digital economy, we’re working on entrepreneurial-mindedness. We need to stop looking for jobs in the traditional way and be very creative, use technology or social media to promote our own work. There are many opportunities outside the traditional way of working.

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Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. When it comes to deciding what you would like to do for the rest of your life, everyone is different. There are those who have always know what they wanted to be while for others it was a difficult, soul-searching decision. It is not always easy to decide which career should be yours. However, the question always pops up is whether you should choose a career that you are good at and for which you have a natural talent and inclination, or should you choose a career that you are most comfortable with and have the strongest attraction to. Unfortunately, these two career paths are hardly ever one and the same and people are often left to choose between careers that they like and careers at which they excel. In a perfect world, you will never have to choose between these job types. However, until that time comes, we are still left with making the difficult decision. How do you know which career to choose? Here’s what you should consider when deciding

Skill Set: If you are good at a job, you would have learned the requisite skills in order to perform the job well. The more skills you possess, the better you will be at your job. Possessing an enviable set of skills can be a desirable quality for employers. Being skillful also means being open to new challenges, and finding solutions to difficult, intricate problems. Whether it’s your passion or simply a job you’re good at, you will always need skills that allow you to be successful. However, it goes without saying that some skill sets are more difficult to acquire than others. It can take years to gather the skills and knowledge that will allow you to be a competent engineer. However, it may take you fewer years to master flower arranging. You need to ask yourself if are you willing to put in the requisite time in order to gather the knowledge you need. Are you willing to take years of classes, sacrificing your social life in order to be a doctor or engineer even while knowing that the learning doesn’t end with your graduation? Knowing how much you are willing to give up will give you a better idea of what your goals should be.

Dependable Income: Whichever job you choose, you would need it to supply you with sufficient income to take care of all your needs. This is why many will advocate for the “safe” route where job seekers take jobs that will provide them with a steady income that is adequate enough for them to live. Whether you go for a safe career or one that tugs at your heart strings, understand that there is a limit to how much money you will earn. Therefore, job hunters must consider with which salary limit are they comfortable. Workers can also choose to supplement their incomes with money from freelance jobs. However this income isn’t guaranteed and job seekers must take into the account the extra commitment and time required. Job seekers must also take into account the part that luck plays in finding a place to fit into. Candidates may find themselves unlucky in finding a safe job that does not pay well and vice versa.

Career Longevity: Workers can create longevity for themselves by acquiring an appropriate skill set and building up years of experience. Employers need workers who are masters at their fields and who can handle any task thrown at them. These employees build up tons of credibility over the years making their opinions incredibly valuable. Employees with longevity will enjoy more respect from their colleagues and will likely have a say in major decisions made by the company. These workers are not easily replaced. In addition to this, their stock is now worth a lot and they can likely command a high salary from other would-be employers. The flip side of this, however, is that career longevity can lead to boredom and monotony. These can, in turn, lead to dissatisfaction in the workplace where workers feel as though they are not being challenged. As a result, many decide that they cure for their boredom is a change of environment. Before taking a safe job, job hunters must ask themselves if they would soon be bored with a job they’ve had for over a decade.

Professional Gratification: There is a lot to be said for the professional gratification one gains from performing a well-liked job. Whether it is the job that pays the bills or the job you consider your “calling”, people want to feel that time spent at their jobs is time well spent. If your job is not your calling you may be dogged by feelings of unfulfillment. Feelings of unfulfillment are bothersome especially when you do not have the liberty to leave it at your own will. For example, if you have a family to raise you might be more willing to endure a job that does not leave you personally fulfilled. Therefore, before deciding on a career, everyone should ask themselves how important personal gratification is to them.

Motivation: Can you muster the necessary motivation in order to perform your job at the highest ability? As an employee, you may not always find yourself fully invested in the fate of the company. Working in a job that you don’t consider to be your calling can make it extra difficult to become motivated. Many times, employees find themselves going through the motions with no real desire to put their best foot forward. Not surprisingly, it’s much easier to remain motivated at a job that you consider you true calling. You become personally invested when you believe that the work you do is important to you. Are you someone who finds it difficult to stay motivated? If so you might want to look for a career in which you have some personal stake.

Finding the perfect job for you is a difficult task. Often, the job that works well for you isn’t the one that captures your heart. However, your perfect career can be found by asking the right questions and being honest about the answers.

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Ahh. There’s nothing like waking up to the quiet still of a cool early morning, when birds begin to stir from sleep to greet the dawn and the soft light of a new day pours gently through the window, you know, past the group of lions gathered outside eagerly licking your tent.

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Donald Trump’s efforts to coalesce the GOP around his candidacy were going well.

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